When I was a kid my mom and dad had a percolator to make coffee. They put water in the pot, ground coffee in a metal basket, inserted the basket into a metal tube that fit inside the percolator bottom, put the top on the percolator, placed the percolator on the kitchen stove, and fired up the burner.
We had a gas stove, so the flames shot up to heat the water. As the water heated it rose up through the tube, washed over the ground coffee, and newly brewed coffee dripped into the pot. Most of their pots had a glass bulb on the top so they could see the progress the pot was making. Mom had a shiny silver electric one when company came, but she seldom used it.
The first modern percolator incorporating the rising of boiling water through a tube to form a continuous cycle and capable of being heated on a kitchen stove was invented in 1819 by the Parisian tinsmith Joseph-Henry-Marie Laurens.
The modern version of the percolator is accredited to an Illinois man named Hanson Goodrich. He was a farmer who decided it was time to improve the brewing of coffee. Taking Lauren’s design, tube included, and adding a few adjustments, Goodrich patented the modern percolator in 1889.
That’s how we made coffee until Joe DiMaggio invented the Mr. Coffee coffee maker in the early 70’s. I think Joltin Joe capitalized on his fame and nickname to market the project. His ex-wife, Marilyn Monroe, would have been proud.
I have a coffee maker in each of my homes. Ruth never drank coffee but loved the smell of it, so she liked the fact that I did. Over our years together we owned several types. I didn’t buy them, but she did. If she found one that she imagined was better than the last, she bought it. She purchased a couple of small ones because I never brewed more than three or four cups at a time. I just went with the flow and used whatever we had on hand.
When they developed the one cup at a time option, we didn’t bite. We talked about it a bit, but the coffee purchased that way seemed expensive. I usually drank everything I brewed, and if perchance I didn’t, she’d pour the leftover liquid into ice cube trays and freeze it. She’d add a few cubes when she made spaghetti sauce or chili. It provides a smoother taste by cutting the acidity. You should try it sometime.
Both of my current coffee makers can brew up to twelve cups. I never brew that much unless I have company. When I arrived in Florida last winter only a couple of months had passed since Ruth’s accident. I bought a couple of things for the house that I thought would be good additions. I never did that during our time together. I deferred to her all of the time. That worked well for both of us.
I had an epiphany and decided to purchase a new pot. I looked at the single serving brewers but passed on them. I did buy a smaller pot that brews a third of the larger one. I use it every day while I’m here. I have three cups each morning. I write a bit while I drink the first two.
When I have Florida company, I retrieve the large pot and store the smaller. This will be the fourth time I’ve used it this winter. Lindsay came last fall, and while we drank several bottles of wine during her visit, we had coffee each morning. She arrives for a second visit later today. I pulled it out again in January when my sister, Jackie, and her main squeeze, Ted, spent a night. I used it again when Elizabeth came for a few days a couple weeks ago. I enjoyed all of those visits and look forward to more.
All my California kids are coming in April. That’ll be a great time. I’ll dig the large pot out, and we’ll make a second, if need be, because they all like their java. I’ve been purchasing upscale coffee for the last several months because that’s what all of my guests prefer. I’ll prepare the pot before I go to bed at night and ask the first one up, usually Kate, to press the brew button. That way we won’t wait long to hear “coffee’s ready”.
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